


Fireflies

by signormythomagic



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre Relationship, There’s this scene in tower of Nero that had me DYING, i am as they say ‘back on my bullshit, so I had to write a fluff ball one shot, ton spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:20:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27021901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/signormythomagic/pseuds/signormythomagic
Summary: The movie is good, but Nico spends at least half of it admiring the way Will gets so engrossed in what he’s watching, quoting lines by memory and singing along (badly;adorably) to all of the musical numbers. Nico feels like if he sits close to him long enough, he’ll surely absorb some of that joy for himself. He certainly wants to try.When the credits start rolling down the screen, Will turns to Nico expectantly. “Well?”“I liked the cat.”“Thackery Binx,” Will reminds him, his eyes going all starry. “You know,” he continues, wistful, “I had the biggest crush on him when I was younger.”This conversation has certainly taken an odd turn. “The cat?”Will actually guffaws, “No, Nico, the boy!”
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 4
Kudos: 141





	Fireflies

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so, this snippet was inspired by Will’s glow in the dark scene and I kind of got carried away. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a little Hocus Pocus and some very gay feelings. 
> 
> Find me on tumblr @signormythomagic

Two campers aren’t supposed to be alone in a cabin together, but somehow Will has convinced Chiron to look the other way. Nico doesn’t ask how he did it, grateful that for once he won’t have to spend the night alone in the oppressive silence of the Hades cabin.

His nightmares have been getting worse. Every time he closes his eyes, Tartarus beckons, waiting and eager to swallow him whole. What was worse; Nico hasn’t been able to dream travel out of them. He tried to put up a brave front, and those first few torturous nights he was able to keep his exhaustion and terror out of plane sight. But eventually, as he always did, Will saw straight through him. Hence, “movie night”.

Nico has never had a movie night, because Nico has never had the time to sit and watch movies. He doesn’t like them much, anyway, preferring music and, oddly enough with his dyslexia, reading. But Will was determined to remedy that.

“Movies are the backbone of this nation, Deathboy,” he’d said, shaking his head in dismay. “And I’m gonna show you just what you’ve been missing.”

Nico hadn’t been able to refuse. Not in the face of Will’s glowing smile. It’s annoyingly bright, and completely guileless.

“Here,” says Will now, thrusting a pillow into Nico’s lap as he scoots up next to him on the too narrow bed, a second pillow and a stack of VHS tapes folded under his arm. To Nico’s credit, he doesn’t flinch when their shoulders brush as Will gets comfortable and grabs the remote.

He flicks on the TV (borrowed from the Big House—stolen, as Nico likes to call it, which Will vehemently denies. It’s old and bulky, probably the same one he watched that awful orientation film on. Likely no one will miss it if it’s never returned) and Nico clutches the pillow, eyeing the son of Apollo warily.

Will takes Nico’s doubtful expression in stride, holding up the selection of tapes like a hand of playing cards. Titles facing outwards. “Which one should we start with first?” He asks, and taps a finger on the top of the middle tape. “This one’s got my vote.”

‘This one’ turns out to be something called Hocus Pocus, though Nico can’t be too sure—the sticker’s almost entirely flaked off, by now. Will grins, and Nico’s heart skips a beat. “Fine.”

“It’s a classic! You’ll love it,” Will promises, beaming as he slides the tape into the slot on the television.

Nico’s not too sure, but it won’t matter what they watch, anyway, as he’s pretty sure he’s going to be too distracted by the warmth radiating off of Will’s side. _Why has he agreed to this_?

In the end, they’re both right. Mostly.

The movie _is_ good, but Nico spends at least half of it admiring the way Will gets so engrossed, quoting lines by memory and singing along (badly; _adorably_ ) to all of the musical numbers. Nico feels like if he sits close to him long enough, he’ll absorb some of that joy for himself. He certainly wants to try. 

When the credits start rolling down the screen, Will turns to Nico expectantly. “Well?”

“I liked the cat.”

“Thackery Binx,” Will reminds him, his eyes going all starry. “You know,” he continues, wistful, “I had the _biggest_ crush on him when I was younger.”

This conversation has certainly taken an odd turn. “The cat?” 

Will actually guffaws, “No, Nico, the _boy!”_

Oh.

This was news to Nico in more ways than one. Sure, he’s suspected that Will was interested in more than just girls for a while now. He may be dense when it comes to these sorts of things, but he isn’t _blind._ Still, Nico hasn’t let himself get his hopes up. Fate was consistent, in that it only ever knocked Nico down. But maybe….

He looks back at Will. There’s still laughter in his eyes, but they’ve become guarded during Nico’s silence. “Is there a problem?”

“No!” Nico says(shouts), trying (failing) to look nonchalant. Will’s face falls, so he hurries to add, “I just think Max is cuter, is all.”

Will’s eyes widen, only briefly, before a slow smile spreads across his face. “Blond’s not your type, then?”

“Hmph,” Nico says, heart thumping wildly in his chest. His face is hot, and he flounders as he tries to get control of himself, looking everywhere but at the boy on his left.

“That’s too bad.” Will says. The bed dips as he crawls around to face him. Nico reluctantly meets his eyes. They’re so blue, even in the dimly lit room, and Nico feels like he’s drowning. Except no, that’s not it at all.

The feelings rising up in Nico’s chest now are nothing like what used to batter him when he looked at Percy. He’s not suffocating in their depths, but floating comfortably on the surface.

Eventually, he finds his voice. It sounds far away, like his ears are clogged. “Why’s that?”

Will’s gaze flickers to Nico’s lips, so quickly that it’s almost unnoticeable, before snapping back up. “Because I know one blond who’d be very upset to hear it.”

Nico isn’t sure why he does it, and if someone asks him later he’ll say it was purely an impulse decision, but suddenly he’s leaning in until he’s pressing his lips against Will’s. He meets no resistance.

The kiss is everything; soft, feather-light, gentle, and when they pull apart, Nico’s entire mouth is tingling. He puts a finger to his lips, almost in awe.

Will, for his part, is lit up like a Christmas tree. Quite literally. Every visible inch of his warm, tan skin is alight, illuminating himself and the room around them in a soft golden hue.

“Will…” Nico begins, stops, blinks, and tries to make sense of what he’s seeing.

“Mhm?”

“You’re glowing.”

Looking dazed, Will glances down at himself. “Oh. Sorry. I do this sometimes. Usually I can control it, but…” He trails off, looking embarrassed for some reason Nico can’t comprehend. He doesn’t see anything for Will to be ashamed of. He’s absolutely beautiful.

Looking at him, Nico’s reminded suddenly of chasing fireflies in the summer with Bianca as a small boy. Simpler times, stolen moments of laughter and childlike wonder. Nico wants to kiss him all over again.

So he does.


End file.
